Saint-Cirq-la-Popie - very cute and very crowded

Isn't this a wonderful name for a quiant & tiny village? You'd right away want to see it.
That's what happens.
More than half a million visitors each year and mind you, Saint-Cirq is tiny.

Anyway, we were near Cahors on our way to the North and I remembered I had visited St. Cirq once with my parents. Ages ago, so let's go there!

I don't exactly remember my first visit but way back then it was probably not 35C in the shadow.
I had also forgotten you have to walk to, and in the small village because it's build on a steep rock with very narrow streets.

We came halfway, where we sat in the shade and had a very light lunch and cold water to drink.
We promised ourselves to look the rest of the village up on Google Street view and got back to the car.
44C.

A la recherche du temps en Quercy

The Quercy, and departement Lot was well known in our family. As a child I visited my aunt who in summer lived at 'Moulin de la Ferrray', a valley with a pond and a couple of buildings around it.
I plan to go back and make pictures.
Now some pictures of the Quercy to get an idea of this part of France.

While driving to the North the landscape changes: from wild and mountainous to an English park landscape with hedges and meadows. Interesting to see!

Girona, a surprise

Girona was a surprise for us: first because we had planned to drive straight from Valencia into France.
Not visit Barcelona (too busy) not visit the costa's (ditto) or any other place between us and the French border.
We changed our plans when we began to feel peckish... always a good reason to leave the Autostrada and go inland!

Second because we soon found out Girona had a very charming city centre with beautiful buildings and squares plus some high end shopping streets. Rich! Food: good!
We had some pintxos and wine at the Basque tapas bar 'Xibarri' on the Placa de la Independència in the middle of the city.
Fed and watered we drove the last hour to Perpignan in the setting sun.

Girona gave us a special bonus: the river Onyar that runs through the city and the buildings alongside it. I took some pictures to share with you.

Arroz! Where the paella comes from - paddy fields near Valencia

Valencia is famous for paëlla. 

The city claims the dish was invented here - originally it contained chicken, rabbit and beans. Nowadays they leave out the rabbit and invented a sea food paella: the paella mariscos and our fav one. 

You never think of rice growing in Spain, or, for that matter, in Italy (risotto!). But there you are: ricefields in the Parque Nacional de Albefera, 10 km. south of Valencia. The lush green of the rice plants as far as you can see. 

You'll see the pictures we made of them. Unfortunately we cannot send you the scent - sweet, fresh, green, normally you'd have to go to the tropics to smell it.

Of course there's all sorts of tourism around the place. Boattrips are abundant. There's one small village that consists only of restaurants serving the local rice plus eel - they do well in shallow waters as well. All was closed when we visited the 'Park'. 

Later I also forgot to buy the paëlla rice when we went shopping. Next time... 

The 'Linea de Baile', our first ever Valencian dance school

They’re also teaching Vals Vienes and Vals Ingles. 

Plus booguie-booguie ;)

But we’re here for Argentinian Tango, the goal of our holiday and the reason why we’ve been travelling all the way to Valencia. 

We’ll be staying here for a week. Lessons in the morning and afternoon, social dancing in the evening. 

Third photo is of the (sprung) dance floor at Linea de Baile with a glimpse of our teacher in the Hague & one of our teachers here, Carlos in short, Joao Carlos Santos David in full. 

I'll add some photos of the various Milongas & other 'dance' photos in the next days
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Valencia: the city

Difficult to say something about the (inner) city in general. 

What would be the city Centre? 

The market - for me that’s just about the centre of the Universe so yes, the centre of Valencia as well -  or the square with the Cathedral (huge on the outside, a bit unassuming on the inside)? 

The square with the Local Government, or the Bullfight Arena with the Central Station next to it?

Valencia doesn’t have a specific centre. Not, like many other Sapanish cities, a medieval centre. 

No very small streets with cute, half timbered houses. That is, we haven’t seen one. 

The general impression is: a spacious city, broad streets and avenues, houses built a century ago when that part of the city was rich and quite some buildings from the 70’s and later, rather ugly concrete office blocks. It lacks the cosyness of, say, San Sebastián, with it’s clearly defined ‘old quarter’. 

But it’s airy and breezy, light and bright, no complaints here. 

An impression.